Written Answers Friday 23 July 2010

Scottish Executive

Child Poverty

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34233 by Alex Neil on 14 June 2010, whether it can confirm that the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics database shows that the Scottish Government’s preferred indicator of child poverty recorded a figure of 45% in 2007-08.

Alex Neil: The figure of 45 percent quoted above appears on the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics and Scottish Government websites and refers to the proportion of children in Scotland living in households that are dependent on out of work benefits or where Child Tax Credit is more than the family element. At a local authority level this is used as a proxy indicator for child poverty and is the Scottish Government’s current preferred indicator for examining the distribution of child poverty across local authorities. It is not however comparable to the official child poverty estimates which are published for Scotland and the UK.

  At a Scotland level the Scottish Government uses the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure child poverty and the 2008-09 figures for the preferred child poverty indicators are as follow:

  Percentage of children in relative poverty (Before Housing Costs): 21 percent.

  Percentage of children in absolute poverty (Before Housing Costs): 11 percent.

  Percentage of children in material deprivation and low income combined: 16 percent.

  FRS figures are not available at local authority level or for smaller geographical areas and so proxy indicators, such as the one quoted above, are used for poverty research concerning these areas.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentages of P7 schoolchildren would be recorded in the National Dental Inspection Programme with no obvious decay experience in their permanent dentition in each report since 2007 if the figures for each NHS board were expressed by community health partnership area.

Shona Robison: The percentages of P7 schoolchildren recorded in the National Dental Inspection Programme with no obvious decay experience in their permanent dentition, by community health partnership area, are not held centrally for 2007. Table 1 shows, by community health partnership area, the percentage of P7 children inspected in the National Dental Inspection Programme of 2009 with no obvious decay experience in their permanent dentition.

  Table1: Percentage of P7 schoolchildren with no obvious decay experience in permanent dentition, as recorded in the National Dental Inspection Programme of 2009; by community health partnership area.

  Percentage with no Obvious Decay Experience in Permanent Dentition

  

Community Health Partnership Area
 


East Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
69.6


North Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
67.7


South Ayrshire Community Health Partnership
72.4


Scottish Borders Community Health and Care Partnership
70.9


Dumfries and Galloway Community Health Partnership
57.8


Dunfermline and West Fife Community Health Partnership
67.2


Glenrothes and North East Fife Community Health Partnership
67.2


Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth Community Health Partnership
67.2


Clackmannanshire Community Health Partnership
68.7


Falkirk Community Health Partnership
68.7


Stirling Community Health Partnership
68.7


Aberdeen City Community Health Partnership
63.7


Aberdeenshire Community Health Partnership
63.7


Moray Community Health and Social Care Partnership
63.7


East Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership
61.3


East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
51.1


East Renfrewshire Community Health and Care Partnership
73.0


Inverclyde Community Health Partnership
54.9


North Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
49.5


Renfrewshire Community Health Partnership
57.8


South East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
67.6


South West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
52.2


West Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership
56.6


West Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership
52.3


Argyll and Bute Community Health Partnership
65.8


Mid Highland Community Health Partnership
76.6


North Highland Community Health Partnership
57.2


South East Highland Community Health Partnership
68.9


North Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership
55.8


South Lanarkshire Community Health Partnership
58.6


East Lothian Community Health Partnership
71.1


Edinburgh Community Health Partnership
75.6


Midlothian Community Health Partnership
61.1


West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership
54.9


Orkney Community Health Partnership
67.9


Shetland Community Health Partnership
76.2


Angus Community Health Partnership
67.0


Dundee Community Health Partnership
67.0


Perth and Kinross Community Health Partnership
67.0


Western Isles Community Health and Social Care Partnership
55.5



  Source: ISD Scotland, Ref: IR2010-01820.

Economy

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when will it start to publish economic forecasts for Scotland.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to publish economic forecasts for the Scottish economy. The Chief Economic Adviser regularly publishes an assessment on the future prospects for the Scottish economy within the State of the Economy publication series. This draws together existing evidence, including independent forecasts, to help inform our understanding of the future performance of the Scottish economy.

Employment

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aegon UK over reported job losses at its life and pensions division based in Edinburgh.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth spoke to Otto Thoresen, Chief Executive of AEGON UK the day before the company announced the review of its operations. He assured Mr Thoresen that the Scottish Government will provide all possible support during the period of its review.

  Scottish Development International is in close contact with AEGON and aims to meet with the company as soon as possible to make it aware of what support is available to help minimise any job losses, particularly compulsory redundancies.

Employment

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support will be put in place to assist people who face redundancy at Aegon UK’s Edinburgh office.

Jim Mather: AEGON has stressed that it is determined to work with its employees and the unions at the facility to minimise job losses and in particular, compulsory redundancies at its Edinburgh office.

  AEGON is unable, at this time, to offer any details on the numbers involved in any proposed job reductions in Edinburgh but, should job losses occur, the Scottish Government will, through Skills Development Scotland, coordinate local response teams under the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative, to provide tailored help and support.

  The Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce is aware of the situation and will engage directly with the company at the right time.

Employment

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that there is support at a national level for creating employment opportunities in poorer communities.

Keith Brown: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government is doing all that it can, within the scope of its current powers, to promote employment opportunities across Scotland.

  For example:

  We are supporting six Urban Regeneration Companies (URCs) to deliver wide-ranging regeneration strategies in some of our poorest communities. All of these aim to create new employment opportunities for local people. We have invested £127 million in these projects since 2004; £92 million since 2007.

  We are encouraging the use of Community Benefit clauses, which help to ensure that local people benefit from training and job opportunities arising from the physical transformation of their area. As well as the Commonwealth Games project in Glasgow, there are good examples of this in places like Raploch and Dundee. See the Scottish Government website for more details http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/policy/procurecombenefits

  Through ScotAction, we have invested £145 million to support the skills needs not only of the unemployed, but also of those in work and those facing redundancy. We are also in the process of rolling out an integrated employment and skills service across Scotland. Delivered in partnership by Jobcentre Plus and Skills Development Scotland, this service will help to ensure that all unemployed people have timely access to appropriate careers advice and training.

  We continue to work closely with CPPs and local employability partnerships to join up and otherwise enhance support for those out of work, as well as to promote enterprise and healthy working lives. This includes work to develop links between employability and, for example, the health and voluntary sectors. For more details, visit: http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/.

  In February we launched a Supported Employment Framework for people with disabilities. The Framework aims to ensure that supported employment is seen as a valued and integral part of local mainstream employment services. See http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/02/23093849/0 for details.

Energy

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for its consideration of Scottish Power Generation Limited’s application for consent to replace the four coal-fired generating units at Cockenzie Power Station with two high-efficiency gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) generating units.

Jim Mather: East Lothian Council submitted their formal objection to Cockenzie proposal to Scottish ministers on 29 June 2010.

  Under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 8 of The Electricity Act 1989, when the relevant planning authority objects to a proposal, and that objection is not withdrawn, Scottish minister must cause a public inquiry to be held.

  A determination by Scottish ministers will not be made until this Inquiry has been held, and the resultant report received for consideration. Each case is unique and as such it is difficult to determine and exact timetable, but in general, referral to a public inquiry can add between six and 12 months to a determination timeframe.

Energy

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact East Lothian Council’s decision to oppose a new gas-fired power station at Cockenzie will have on the timetable for consideration of Scottish Power Generation Limited’s application.

Jim Mather: East Lothian Council submitted their formal objection to Cockenzie proposal to Scottish Ministers on 29 June 2010.

  Under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 8 of The Electricity Act 1989, when the relevant Planning Authority objects to a proposal, and that objection is not withdrawn, Scottish Minister must cause a Public Inquiry to be held.

  A determination by Scottish ministers will not be made until this Inquiry has been held, and the resultant report received for consideration. Each case is unique and as such it is difficult to determine and exact timetable, but in general, referral to a Public Inquiry can add between six and 12 months to a determination timeframe.

Energy

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will use to decide on Scottish Power Generation Limited’s application for consent to replace the four coal-fired generating units at Cockenzie Power Station with two high-efficiency gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) generating units.

Jim Mather: Scottish ministers will consider responses to the application consultation, representations from members of the public and the report resulting from the public inquiry alongside all legislative and planning obligations before coming to a determination on the Cockenzie proposal.

Energy

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether new non-nuclear baseload electricity generating capacity at existing power station sites remains a national development priority.

Stewart Stevenson: Consistent with the considerations and principles set out in paragraphs 151 and 152 of the second National Planning Framework (NPF2), new non-nuclear baseload electricity generating capacity at existing power station sites remains a national development priority.

Energy

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will take account of the views of local residents when considering Scottish Power Generation Limited’s application for consent to replace the four coal-fired generating units at Cockenzie Power Station with two high-efficiency gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) generating units.

Jim Mather: Public representations are a material consideration for applications submitted under s36 of the Electricity Act. Although the statutory consultee period for these applications is 28 days, Scottish ministers remain open to representations up until a determination is made. Any individual, or group, with an interest in the Cockenzie development are invited to submit their views. Details on the various way to submit representations can be found on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Infrastructure/Energy-Consents/Support-object .

Energy

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many extra shipping movements will be required for (a) coal and (b) biomass at the proposed coal-fired power station at Hunterston.

Jim Mather: Ayrshire Power submitted a full Environmental Statement to Scottish Ministers in support of their application. This states in Chapter 18, paragraph 18.4.30, that the 4.6 million tonnes of coal would increase shipping movements by 35-40 per annum (approximately 4 per month) while the 800,000 tonnes of biomass would increase shipping movements by 40 per annum (approximately 4 per month).

Forestry

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of native trees, including Scots pine, were planted in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) public land, (b) private land and (c) Forestry Commission conservancy area.

Roseanna Cunningham: The areas of new native woodland planted on private land over the last five years, broken down by Forestry Commission Scotland Conservancy, are shown below. Details of new planting on the national forest estate are not kept by conservancy, but the total amount of new native woodland planted over the same five year period is around 230 hectares.

  Areas in Hectares (ha) of New Native Woodlands

  

Conservancy
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
Total


Central
100
208
583
24
85
1,000


Grampian
217
614
251
78
57
1,217


Highland and Islands
1,886
957
857
337
775
4,812


Perth and Argyll
342
791
412
256
137
1,938


South Scotland
184
689
312
243
210
1,638


Total Scotland
2,729
3,259
2,415
938
1,264
10,605

Forestry

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of native trees have been approved for planting in the next planting season through the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Roseanna Cunningham: There are 4,430 hectares of native woodland approved for new planting in the next planting season through the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

Forestry

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of woodland were lost due to (a) restoration of open ground habitats, (b) clearance for wind farms, (c) loss to development and (d) loss of hedgerow trees in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32887 on 28 April 2010 which set out the total amount of woodland felling in each of the past five years. A breakdown of these figures into the various categories now requested is not readily available at present. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) records show that the total amount of private sector woodland approved for felling over the past five years without a replanting condition was 678 hectares. However, certain categories of felling (including felling associated with planning permission) are exempt from felling licence requirements, and no central records are held on exempt felling.

  Current work on improving the National Forest Inventory and implementing the policy on the Control of Woodland Removal will provide additional information on woodland loss. In addition, the Native Woodland Survey being carried out by FCS will provide maps and estimates of recent losses of native and ancient woodland related to development and other causes.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Forestry

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hectares of native woodland were lost due to (a) restoration of open ground habitats, (b) clearance for wind farms, (c) loss to development, and (d) loss of hedgerow trees in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32887 on 28 January 2010 which set out the total amount of woodland felling in each of the past five years. A breakdown of these figures into the various categories now requested is not readily available at present. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) records show that the total amount of private sector woodland approved for felling over the past five years without a replanting condition was 678 hectares. However, certain categories of felling (including felling associated with planning permission) are exempt from felling licence requirements, and no central records are held on exempt felling.

  Current work on improving the National Forest Inventory and implementing the policy on the Control of Woodland Removal will provide additional information on woodland loss. In addition, the Native Woodland Survey being carried out by FCS will provide maps and estimates of recent losses of native and ancient woodland related to development and other causes.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Forestry

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much ancient woodland was lost in each of the last five years.

Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32887 on 28 April 2010 which set out the total amount of woodland felling in each of the past five years. A breakdown of these figures into the various categories now requested is not readily available at present. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) records show that the total amount of private sector woodland approved for felling over the past five years without a replanting condition was 678 hectares. However, certain categories of felling (including felling associated with planning permission) are exempt from felling licence requirements, and no central records are held on exempt felling.

  Current work on improving the National Forest Inventory and implementing the policy on the "Control of Woodland Removal" will provide additional information on woodland loss. In addition, the Native Woodland Survey being carried out by FCS will provide maps and estimates of recent losses of native and ancient woodland related to development and other causes.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Further Education

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what information will be available to it to inform its decision on any proposal from the Scottish Funding Council to merge Glasgow Metropolitan College, the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies and Central College, Glasgow.

Keith Brown: The proposal to merge has been made to ministers by the colleges themselves. Ministers will consider the detailed merger proposal document submitted by the colleges and the advice of the Scottish Funding Council, which has a statutory duty to advise ministers. Ministers will consider the range of views and comments received in response to their own public consultation launched in December 2009. Ministers will also consider responses to the separate consultation exercise undertaken by the colleges themselves, as well as any other representations which have been made to ministers since these consultations closed.

Further Education

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the information used by it to inform its decision on any proposal from the Scottish Funding Council to merge Glasgow Metropolitan College, the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies and Central College, Glasgow will be made public.

Keith Brown: We will be happy to make available all information upon which Ministers base their decision, with the exception of information which might be exempt under freedom of information legislation.

Further Education

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to conduct a public consultation exercise to examine the merits of any proposal from the Scottish Funding Council to merge Glasgow Metropolitan College, the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies and Central College, Glasgow.

Keith Brown: Ministers launched a public consultation exercise on the prospect of the merger on 21 December 2009. Ministers are also aware of the outcome of the separate consultation exercise undertaken by the colleges concerned. Ministers have received since then a range of further views and representations on the proposed merger, all of which will be taken into account by ministers in reaching their decision.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made to increase the responsibility of organisations for the health and wellbeing of their employees.

Shona Robison: Our Health Works strategy, published in November 2009, promotes the importance of promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace as a means of improving the wellbeing of the working age population and improving productivity.

  The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives provides a wide range of information and support for employers and employees through its website, free and confidential advice line and through its network of advisers. A growing number of employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises are accessing the centre’s services to help promote the wellbeing of their staff.

  Workplace health and safety and employment legislation are issues reserved to the UK Government.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) children and (b) adults were registered as (i) overweight, (ii) obese and (iii) morbidly obese in each NHS board in each of the last two years.

Shona Robison: Most of the data requested is not held centrally. However, information is held on the numbers of patients aged 16 and over, who are registered to a Scottish general practice and have been recorded as being obese (with a body mass index/BMI of 30 or more). This data is available through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the new General Medical Services contract. QOF is a part of the new General Medical Services contract, and comprises a framework of indicators that practices much achieve against in order to receive QOF funding.

  Tables 1 and 2 show the numbers of patients aged over 16, with a BMI of 30 or over, included on QOF obesity registers for Scotland and in each NHS Board, for the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09.

  Table 1 Numbers of Patients Aged 16 and Over Included on General Practice QOF Registers for Obesity, 2007-08

  

NHS Board
Practices with Reportable QOF Data
Number of Practices on which this Count is Based
Total List Size (All Ages) of these Practices
All Practices
Total list Size (all ages) of these Practices





Ayrshire and Arran
29,115
59
387,649
59
387,649


Borders
7,418
25
115,011
25
115,011


Dumfries and Galloway
12,504
35
154,898
35
154,898


Fife
27,145
56
369,872
57
370,503


Forth Valley
22,512
57
305,507
57
305,507


Grampian
48,597
84
563,312
84
563,312


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
88,946
271
1,298,690
274
1,301,574


Highland
24,094
102
319,423
102
319,423


Lanarkshire
47,671
98
587,685
98
587,685


Lothian
48,015
120
841,193
126
860,803


Orkney
2,158
13
20,057
15
20,244


Shetland
2,019
10
22,222
10
22,222


Tayside
35,657
70
414,308
71
414,419


Western Isles
2,274
12
27,661
12
27,661


Scotland
398,125
1,012
5,427,488
1,025
5,450,911



  Table 2. Numbers of Patients Aged 16 and Over Included on General Practice QOF Registers for Obesity, 2008-09

  

 
Practices with reportable QOF data
Number of practices on which this count is based
Total list size (all ages) of these practices
All practices
Total list size (all ages) of these practices





Ayrshire and Arran
28,838
59
388,169
59
388,169


Borders
6,698
25
115,908
25
115,908


Dumfries and Galloway
11,811
35
155,343
35
155,343


Fife 
25,767
57
373,201
57
373,201


Forth Valley 
21,105
56
299,919
57
307,186


Grampian
43,468
76
486,176
84
566,029


Greater Glasgow and Clyde
83,270
271
1,306,295
274
1,309,231


Highland 
23,756
102
321,561
102
321,561


Lanarkshire
43,153
98
590,103
98
590,103


Lothian
45,098
120
845,379
125
865,664


Orkney
2,010
13
20,263
14
20,322


Shetland
1,941
10
22,327
10
22,327


Tayside
36,339
69
415,376
69
415,376


Western Isles
2,395
12
27,631
12
27,631


Scotland 
375,649
1,003
5,367,651
1,021
5,478,051



  Source: Information Services Division Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. QOF registers can potentially include a mixture of patients who are defined as obese and morbidly obese, but as the QOF reports only the total numbers of patients on the obesity register in each practice the figures cannot be broken down to count each group separately.

  2. QOF obesity registers can include patients newly recorded as being obese and those previously recorded as being obese, so the numbers for the two years are also likely to include many of the same patients.

  3. The QOF-reported prevalence of obesity, at around 7% for Scotland, is much lower than the rates reported in population surveys (for example the 2008 Scottish Health Survey reported that 26% of men and 27.5% of women aged over 16 years were obese).

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on anti-obesity drugs in each of the last 10 years.

Shona Robison: Information on drugs used in the treatment of obesity, including costs, can be found on the Information Services Division Scotland website www.isdscotland.org/isd/4635.html .

  The data given relate to prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. These data do not include the cost of any drugs dispensed in hospitals or hospital-based clinics.

  It is important to note that the marketing authorisation of one of the drugs listed – rimonabant (Acomplia) - was withdrawn on 16 January 2009. The marketing authorisation for another of the drugs - sibutramine (Reductil) - was suspended in January 2010. Further information can be found on the website of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency at www.mhra.gov.uk.

Health

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has set timescales to respond to correspondence from elected members on matters concerning constituents and, if so, whether such timescales are in line with other NHS boards across Scotland.

Shona Robison: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that all correspondence from elected members concerning constituent complaints are handled in accordance with the national NHS Complaints Procedure. Most complaints raised under the national NHS Complaints Procedure should receive a response within 20 working days. In a limited number of cases, NHS boards may need more time to provide a full response. In such cases, the relevant board should contact the correspondent to explain the delay and provide an estimate of when it expects to respond in full.

Heritage

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration has been given to approaching the National Trust for Scotland to discuss joint working with Historic Scotland.

Fiona Hyslop: Historic Scotland works closely with the National Trust for Scotland in a number of areas and continues to develop its joint working agreed in the 2006 concordat between the two agencies.

  The chief executives of Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland meet regularly to discuss further opportunities to work together where it is appropriate and beneficial to both organisations.

  Link to concordat http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/concordat-national-trust-2.pdf.

Homelessness

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made for the number of homeless individuals there will be by the end of 2012.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has not made projections of the levels of homelessness by the end of 2012, nor of the number of new social housing units that need to be created in order to meet the 2012 homelessness target. The Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities have jointly agreed a strategy to address the 2012 target. The four strands of the strategy are: continued leadership at both political and corporate level; preventing homelessness where possible; ensuring that all housing providers work together to maximise the access of homeless households to existing stock (both RSL and the private rented sector), and investing where appropriate to meet need. The number of homeless households in 2012 will depend, among other things, on the effectiveness of councils’ prevention strategies and the number of social housing units needed will depend on both the number of homeless households and the ways in which councils are able to use their new powers to discharge homelessness duties through the private rented sector.

  In a series of seminars in autumn 2009, councils were provided with spreadsheet based models to allow them to explore the impact of prevention and new social house building on the need for lets to homeless households each year, up to and beyond 2012. The recent allocation of money to local authorities for new build had homelessness as a key criterion.

  The Scottish Government and COSLA 2012 Steering Group held a prevention event in June this year which promoted the development of the housing options approach. This looks to prevent homelessness and also identify a more sustainable outcome for homeless households. This will impact on the number of homeless households presenting to local authorities.

Homelessness

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made for the number of new social housing units that need to be created in order to meet the 2012 homelessness target.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-34864 on 23 July 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Housing

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific action it is taking to stimulate rural social housing development.

Alex Neil: A total of £672 million was spent on the delivery affordable housing across Scotland last year (2009-10) of which £160 million was spent in rural areas.

  8,092 houses were completed last year, of which 1,859 were in rural areas.

  Figures for previous years are available from the Scottish Government’s website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip

Housing

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is monitoring rural social housing development.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government’s Housing Investment Division now deploys the government’s six-fold urban/rural classification for reporting on its Affordable Housing Investment Programme.

  Housing Investment Division will be in a position to report on rural "approvals" and "site starts" following the publication of official statistics. Official statistics for the first quarter of 2010-11 will be published on 26 August 2010.

  Figures for previous years are available from the Scottish Government’s website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip.

Housing

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many evictions from (a) council and (b) housing association properties there were for antisocial behaviour in 2009.

Alex Neil: The number of evictions from council houses due to anti-social behaviour is published annually by financial year on the Scottish Government’s website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/Evictions.

  The number of evictions from housing association houses due to anti-social behaviour is published annually by financial year on the Scottish Housing Regulator’s website at

  http://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/stellent/groups/public/documents/webpages/shr_statisticstables2008-09.hcsp#TopOfPage.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people applied for the Open Market Shared Equity pilot in 2009-10.

Alex Neil: Three thousand, four hundred and thirty households submitted application forms for the Open Market Shared Equity Pilot in 2009-10. Of these applicants, 2,164 were eligible for support through the scheme.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it estimates will be supported under its Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers programme in 2010-11.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government plans to help over 1,000 people access home ownership in 2010-11 through its Low Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers schemes in 2010-11.

  Details of planned and announced units and expenditure provided through the Affordable Housing Investment Programme can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip/ahip2010-2011.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the second supplementary to question S3O-11060 by Alex Neil on 24 June 2010 ( Official Report c. 27736), whether it will detail the allocations of the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers scheme funding to support 1,500 families in 2009.

Alex Neil: Details of planned and announced units and expenditure for the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers Schemes in 2009-10 that were provided through the Affordable Housing Investment Programme can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip/ahip200910plannedapproval.

  The Affordable Housing Investment Programme Out-turn Report for 2009-10 providing out-turn management information for financial year 2009-10 will be published shortly on the web page provided above.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the second supplementary to question S3O-11060 by Alex Neil on 24 June 2010 ( Official Report c. 27736), whether it will detail the allocations of the Low-cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers scheme funding to support 1,000 families in 2010.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government plans to spend a total of £48.816 million through its Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers schemes in 2010-11, broken down as follows:

  

New Supply Shared Equity/Shared Ownership
£21.902 million


GRO Grant for Owner Occupation
£3.672 million


Rural Home Ownership Grants
£0.742 million


Open Market Shared Equity Pilot
£20 million


New Supply Shared Equity Trial with Developers
£2.5 million


Total
£48.816 million



  Details of planned and announced units and expenditure for the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers schemes in 2010-11 provided through the Affordable Housing Investment Programme can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/investment/ahip/ahip2010-2011.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available for Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers scheme in 2010-11.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-34933 on 23 July 2010 which details the allocation of funding for the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers schemes in 2010-11. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30392 by Alex Neil on 13 January 2010, what the response has been to the consultation on the guide to social housing allocations.

Alex Neil: We are currently finalising the new practical guide on social housing allocations for social landlords. We now intend to issue this guide for consultation in August and conclude the consultation in October.

Housing

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many aids and adaptations were or have been undertaken in homes in the Glasgow Baillieston constituency by Glasgow City Council in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010 and what budgets were allocated to each project.

Shona Robison: This is a matter for Glasgow City Council. The information requested is not held centrally.

Influenza

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of people in each target group received an influenza A (H1N1) vaccination.

Shona Robison: The estimated uptake of influenza A (H1N1) vaccination for those under the age of 65 years and in a clinical at-risk group (including pregnant women) is 52.1%. The estimated uptake of vaccine for those aged 65 years and over in a clinical at-risk group is 56.2%. These data are based on estimates from automatic reporting from 95.3% of general practices in Scotland on 4 April 2010.

  It is not possible to provide an estimate for uptake in the household contacts of the immuno-compromised group, as these individuals are not specifically coded on the IT systems used in general practices.

  The estimated uptake rate for frontline health care staff is 55.1%. The estimated uptake rate for frontline social care staff is 32%. These figures are based on the numbers of people vaccinated considered against the numbers eligible for vaccination as reported to HPS by the NHS boards.

  Phase 2 of the immunisation programme recommended H1N1 immunisation for all children over six months of age and under five years. The estimated uptake of vaccine among healthy children under five years of age is 44.5%. Using the Scottish Immunisation Recall System (SIRS) it is not possible to separately identify children in an at-risk category from those who are healthy, therefore this figure will also include vaccinations given to children at-risk where this has been recorded on SIRS.

Justice

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what budget is allocated to the Court of the Lord Lyon and who the accountable officer is.

Kenny MacAskill: This year a budget of £106,000 was allocated to the Court of the Lord Lyon. The accountable officer is Stella Manzie, Director General of Justice and Communities within the Scottish Government.

Justice

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which of its directorates responsibility for the Court of the Lord Lyon lies.

Kenny MacAskill: The Justice Directorate has a sponsorship role for the Court of the Lord Lyon, however the court exercises its judicial functions independently and some aspects of the work are reserved as it is part of the Royal household.

Justice

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what annual budget has been set for the Court of the Lord Lyon and what the final outturn for that budget line has been in each year since 1999.

Kenny MacAskill: The table below sets out the budget allocation and the outturn figure for the Court of the Lord Lyon since 2005, which is the earliest year for which records are held internally within the Scottish Government. An outturn figure is not yet available for the current financial year. In addition to funding from Scottish Government the Court receives income from court fees, also shown in the table below. This is offset against their budget with the Scottish Government ultimately funding only the difference between their income and expenditure.

  

F/Y  YEAR
Budget
Income
Outturn


 
£
 
£


2005-06
103,000
68,850
90,700


2006-07
100,000
69,850
103,000


2007-08
99,000
58,000
102,500


2008-09
99,106
58,900
98,500


2009-10
101,238
82,864
109,000


2010-11
106,000
 
 


Total
608,344
338,464
503,700

Local Government

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any local authority has cited an objector under 16 to appear in court.

Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally.

Local Government Finance

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether oral and written evidence to the Accounts Commission public inquiry into Shetland Islands Council, which is holding its public hearing in Lerwick on 28 and 29 June 2010, is protected by privilege.

John Swinney: The inquiry referred to was held under the terms of section 103B of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The act does not address the legal status of evidence given at such inquiries, nor the extent to which witnesses at such inquiries are protected by privilege. It is not for the Scottish Government to provide legal advice to others. It would be for the courts to determine the extent to which the common law principles of qualified or other privilege give protection in the circumstances of a particular case. Where witnesses have concerns about such matters of law, they need to seek their own appropriate legal advice.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the appointment of senior psychologists to the role of approved clinician under mental health legislation for England and Wales, whether it will consider extending the role of chartered psychologists, who under Part 8 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 can be responsible for the treatment of mental disorder for patients on probation orders, to a wider Resident Medical Officer-type role in appropriate cases.

Shona Robison: In determining the requirements for the role of Approved Medical Practitioner*(AMP), prior to the enactment of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, the role of chartered psychologists as AMPs was considered and rejected. Having chartered psychologists as AMPs would result in a duplication of work as patients who are detained under the 2003 act are usually on medication and would already have medical input from doctors (AMPs) responsible for prescribing medication and for their detention.

  Note: *An Approved Medical Practitioner (AMP) is a medical practitioner who has been approved under section 22 of the 2003 Act by an NHS board or the State Hospitals Board for Scotland as having special experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the waiting times for mental health services as recommended in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of Mental Health Services .

Shona Robison: The recommendation to ensure data on waiting times are collected and reported routinely is directed at local service provider partners.

  I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35030 on 23 July 2010 which set out action on establishing national mental health service waiting time targets. National data on these aspects will be published as it becomes available. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address mental health services with long waiting times, as recommended in the Audit Scotland report, Overview of Mental Health Services.

Shona Robison: Those adults accessing mental health services for the first time or within unplanned or crisis care usually do so quickly, and we are already addressing those areas affected by the longest waits in planned access to care.

  We have established the first ever mental health waiting time target for access to specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) which means by March 2013 no one will wait longer than 26 weeks. We are also investing £6.5 million over three years to increase the number of psychologists working in specialist CAMHS. A further £2 million per year is available to NHS boards on a recurring basis to accelerate the development of specialist CAMHS.

  We are also investing and working with NHS boards and NHS Education for Scotland to expand and improve access to evidence based psychological therapies. This includes a commitment to develop an access target for psychological therapies for inclusion in HEAT in 2011-12.

  The Patient Rights (Scotland) Bill will also include mental health services in its aims to establish a 12 week treatment time guarantee for patients receiving elective or planned treatment on an inpatient or day case basis. Where mental health services are delivered on this basis then the treatment time guarantee will apply.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how may vacancies exist for (a) psychiatrists and (b) psychologists.

Shona Robison: Information showing consultant vacancies by specialty, including psychiatric specialties, is published by Information Services Division Scotland and can be found at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=Consultant_Vacancies_2009.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

  Information about vacancies for psychologists is not centrally available.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority spent on mental health services in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24327 on 11 June 2009 which set out net revenue expenditure on social work services for adults with mental health needs for the period 1998-99 to 2007-08. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

  Information for 2008-09 is set out in the following table:

  

 
2008-09 £000


Scotland
88,986


Aberdeen City
5,010


Aberdeenshire
3,895


Angus
1,130


Argyll and Bute
1,386


Clackmannanshire
1,204


Dumfries and Galloway
2,321


Dundee City
1,336


East Ayrshire
1,786


East Dunbartonshire
1,839


East Lothian
1,321


East Renfrewshire
1,217


Edinburgh, City of
8,514


Eilean Siar
592


Falkirk
2,915


Fife
7,106


Glasgow City
8,944


Highland
2,665


Inverclyde
1,333


Midlothian
822


Moray
1,575


North Ayrshire
1,582


North Lanarkshire
6,343


Orkney Islands
539


Perth and Kinross
2,124


Renfrewshire
3,372


Scottish Borders
2,275


Shetland Islands
980


South Ayrshire
2,620


South Lanarkshire
4,263


Stirling
1,569


West Dunbartonshire
4,152


West Lothian
2,256



  Source LFR 3 Returns.

  Note: For comparisons which span 2007-08 and 2008-09, the rolling up of the former Supporting People ring-fenced grant created a discontinuity (increase in net expenditure) as the expenditure supported by the rolled up grant was included from 2008-09.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards provide Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Shona Robison: All NHS boards in Scotland provide access to a range of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) with specialist inpatient services provided on a regional basis.

  Considerable progress has been made in recent years both in mapping out what needs to be done and in delivering the changes that will be required now and in the future to improve these vital services. This has involved work in many different areas including training and workforce planning; increasing hospital bed numbers; reducing inappropriate hospital admissions; early intervention; supported transitions; improved primary care, and better planning and delivery of specialist care.

  We have established a 26 week HEAT target for access to specialist CAMHS to be achieved by March 2013; further supported the development of CAMHS specialist services by investing an additional £2 million per year on a recurring basis, and we have made available £6.5 million new money over three years from 2009-10 to develop the CAMHS psychology workforce and support additional training places and posts.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS patients can choose from a range of evidence-based psychological therapies including counselling and psychotherapy.

Shona Robison: Access to a range of evidence based psychological therapies is available across all NHS boards in Scotland.

  In line with the principle of participation in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Scotland Act 2003, service uses should be fully involved so far as they are able to be in all aspects of their assessment, care, treatment and support. Decisions about the best treatment will take into account the clinical evidence, patient choice and the appropriateness of the patient for a particular treatment.

  We are committed to working with NHS boards and NHS Education for Scotland to improve access to psychological therapies across Scotland. We are also developing an access target for psychological therapies for inclusion in HEAT in 2011-12.

Museums

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure the long-term financial security of the industrial museums.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has already come to the assistance of the industrial museums through providing an additional £340,000 revenue funding in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and over £1.5 million in capital funding over the current Spending Review period. The Museums Think Tank is considering, as part of its remit, how best to achieve a sustainable future for our industrial collections and I look forward to discussing their conclusions later in the summer. All decisions on Scottish Government funding will, of course, be subject to the outcome of the forthcoming spending review.

Museums

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the funding required to guarantee the long-term financial security of the Scottish Maritime Museum.

Fiona Hyslop: I was pleased to visit the Scottish Maritime Museum on 14 June to open the new PS Lochlomond gallery, to announce an additional £100,000 funding for the museum, and to hear about its work and future challenges. The financial situation of the Scottish Maritime Museum and other industrial museums is being considered by the Museums Think Tank. Museums Galleries Scotland is working with the Maritime Museum to help ensure the development of a sustainable business model for the museum.

Museums

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on the preservation of maritime heritage.

Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of preserving Scotland’s maritime heritage. The Marine (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent on 14 March 2010. This will allow us to create Historic Marine Protected Areas for our heritage at sea while heritage designations around our coast already recognise the significance of 107 historic lighthouses and 90 harbours. The Scottish Government is also investing in our maritime heritage. Over the last five years, Historic Scotland’s Building Repair Grant Scheme has contributed £2.5 million. Over the last two years, Museums and Galleries Scotland has invested approximately £1.3 million in Scottish Government funding towards maritime heritage through its grants schemes.

Museums

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to providing additional funding to assist the industrial museums to work more closely in partnership

Fiona Hyslop: The Museums Think Tank has been considering the benefits of greater collaborative and partnership working between the industrial museums, and across the museums sector. I welcome this approach and look forward to discussing the group’s recommendations later in the summer. All decisions on Scottish Government funding will, of course, be subject to the outcome of the forthcoming spending review.

Museums

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to publish the recommendations of its working group on future museum strategy.

Fiona Hyslop: I will be discussing the recommendations with the group in August and, subject to that discussion, expect its findings to be published soon thereafter.

NHS Hospitals

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has received a recommendation from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde for the closure of Lightburn Hospital.

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received proposals for the closure of Lightburn Hospital and, if so, what alternative plans have been recommended to accommodate the needs of patients.

Shona Robison: No recommendations have been received.

NHS Hospitals

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds were or have been available for use in Lightburn Hospital in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009 and (d) 2010.

Shona Robison: The information is presented in the following table.

  

 
2007
2008
2009
2010


Average Available Staffed Beds
106
91
93
94



  Source: ISD Scotland.

NHS Hospitals

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place between Glasgow City Council’s social work department and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde concerning bed or ward closures at Lightburn Hospital.

Shona Robison: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that discussions were held with Glasgow City Council’s Social Work Department in 2007 about changes in the bed configuration at Lightburn Hospital at that time. The NHS board has been clear that any future bed re-modelling would be informed by the full engagement of local stakeholders, and taken forward through the joint rehabilitation structure with their social work partners.

Older People

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated expenditure by Dundee City Council was on (a) care at home, (b) care homes and (c) day care for people aged 65 or over in the last year for which information is available.

Shona Robison: The information requested is given in the table below:

  Dundee City Council - Net Expenditure on Older People Services 2008-09

  

 
Net Expenditure (£000)


(a) Care at Home
12,323


(b) Care Homes
18,039


(c) Day Care
1,314



  Source: Local Government Finance LFR3 return.

People with Disabilities

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the announcement in a news release of 15 June 2010 of the Scottish Housing Options Approach funding programme being backed by approximately £500,000 that is earmarked for staff training and service development, whether the amount has been ring-fenced for this purpose.

Alex Neil: The Housing Options Approach Funding Programme consists of around £500,000 of "enabling" funding which is available for local authorities to move towards a Housing Options approach to homelessness prevention work. The funding is only available for housing options related work which will assist local authorities in meeting the 2012 Homelessness target.

People with Disabilities

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to publish guidance on measuring outcomes for disabled people.

Alex Neil: Local plans and progress on improving outcomes for disabled people are described in single outcome agreements (SOAs) between the Scottish Government and community planning partnerships.

  The Community Care Outcomes Framework, published in December 2008, also underpin the SOAs to help partnerships understand how to secure better outcomes for people who use care services.

Planning

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact East Lothian Council’s decision to oppose a new gas-fired power station at Cockenzie will have on the cost of a public inquiry on Scottish Power Generation Limited’s application.

Jim Mather: Under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 8 of The Electricity Act 1989, when the relevant planning authority objects to a proposal, and that objection is not withdrawn, Scottish minister must cause a public inquiry to be held. Hence, the objection from East Lothian Council has led to a public inquiry being called into the Cockenzie proposal.

  In terms of costs, each party is expected to meet their own administration costs. However, expenses may be claimed by any person on grounds of unreasonable behaviour by another party. More information about expense claims can be found in the Scottish Government Planning Circular 6-1990. A copy of this document is available through the attached link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/1990/03/circular-6-1990.

Poverty

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what areas in South Ayrshire are in the worst 5% of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

John Swinney: A revision to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2009 was made in the week of 19 July 2010. This is referred to as SIMD 2009 Version 2. This answer is based on the revised figures from SIMD 2009 Version 2 as opposed to the SIMD 2009 published in October 2009.

  The areas in South Ayrshire in the 5% most deprived are not affected by this revision.

  The SIMD is calculated at datazone level. Datazones are small statistical boundaries with an average population of around 750 people.

  Of South Ayrshire’s 147 datazones, six are in Scotland’s 5% most deprived areas using SIMD 2009 Version 2. These are listed in the table below. Datazones do not have names and so the table also provides the name of the intermediate geography in which the datazone lies. Intermediate geographies are larger areas built up from a small number of datazones.

  South Ayrshire’s Datazones in the 5% Most Deprived Areas (SIMD 2009 Version 2)

  

Datazone Code
Intermediate Geography Name


S01005590
Ayr North Harbour, Wallacetown and Newton South


S01005592
Ayr North Harbour, Wallacetown and Newton South


S01005594
Ayr North Harbour, Wallacetown and Newton South


S01005598
Ayr North Harbour, Wallacetown and Newton South


S01005600
Lochside, Braehead and Whitletts


S01005611
Lochside, Braehead and Whitletts



  A list of deprived datazones is available on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/SIMD.

Poverty

John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what areas in the Scottish Borders are in the worst 5% of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

John Swinney: A revision to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2009 was made in the week of 19 July 2010. This is referred to as SIMD 2009 Version 2. This answer is based on the revised figures from SIMD 2009 Version 2 as opposed to the SIMD 2009 published in October 2009.

  The SIMD is calculated at datazone level. Datazones are small statistical boundaries with an average population of around 750 people.

  Of the Scottish Borders’ 130 datazones, none are in Scotland’s 5% most deprived areas using SIMD 2009 Version 2. Prior to the correction, the Scottish Borders had one datazone in the 5% most deprived but this datazone is now in the 10% most deprived.

  A list of deprived datazones is available on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/SIMD.

Poverty

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor how the Fairer Scotland Fund is being used to tackle poverty.

Alex Neil: The Fairer Scotland Fund is no longer ring-fenced, having been rolled-up into local authorities’ general revenue funding for 2010-11.

  Going forward, single outcome agreement (SOA) annual reports are the key means of monitoring progress made by local partners in using their collective resources to tackle poverty and concentrations of disadvantage.

  Councils are required to submit SOA annual reports on behalf of their Community Planning Partnership to the Scottish Government each autumn. My officials will continue to review these reports in the context of the Scottish Government’s joint statement with COSLA, Equal Communities in a Fairer Scotland, which clearly sets out our commitment to tackling concentrated multiple disadvantage and builds upon the key principles of the Fairer Scotland Fund.

Poverty

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will discuss with COSLA how to ensure that single outcome agreements are poverty-proofed.

Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has ongoing discussions with COSLA about local authorities’ approach to tackling poverty, as set out in Achieving Our Potential (the Scottish Government and COSLA framework). This has included discussion of what support and guidance is needed by Community Planning Partnerships and strategic public authorities to ensure that tackling poverty is given due regard in strategic decision-making, including commitments within single outcome agreements.

Procurement

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-34473 by John Swinney on 22 June 2010, what specific EU legislation would be breached by a requirement that a contractor pay the minimum wage.

John Swinney: Question S3W-34473 referred to a "living wage" which is generally understood to mean a wage over and above the statutory national minimum wage and the answer was provided in that context. Contractors engaging UK workers are required to comply with UK employment law including the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. It is imposing a requirement to go further than the 1998 Act that could restrict the freedom to provide services guaranteed by article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Rail Network

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff are working on the Borders railway project.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland currently has four permanent staff allocated to the Borders railway project.

Rail Network

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimated cost is of the Edinburgh-to-Glasgow rail enhancement; what the sources of funds are for this project, and when it will be completed.

Stewart Stevenson: The estimated Capital cost of the Edinburgh - Glasgow Improvements Programme (EGIP) remains £1,135 million.

  The programme will be fully funded by the Scottish Government. Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) have confirmed that Network Rail’s Regulatory Asset Base (RAB) financing facility is available to finance the infrastructure elements of the EGIP programme.

  The programme remains on schedule for final completion by December 2016.

Renewable Energy

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-31065 by Jim Mather on 9 February 2010, what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the cumulative impact of wind farm developments.

Stewart Stevenson: Officials from the Scottish Government’s Energy and Built Environment Directorates hold regular and routine discussions with local authorities about onshore renewables policy and land-use planning, including matters related to the cumulative impacts of wind farm developments where they are raised.

Rights of Way

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who is responsible for public liability on an identified core path.

Roseanna Cunningham: Public liability obligations are not affected by designation of land as a core path under the provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

  The nature of the liability obligations applicable on land to which the public have a right of access will depend on the particular circumstances. The Occupiers’ Liability (Scotland) Act 1960 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 provide that land managers owe a duty of care to other people on their property. Members of the public also owe a duty of care to others, particularly if they are taking part in potentially hazardous activities. Persons taking access to land would generally be held to have accepted any obvious risk or risks inherent in the activities they are undertaking.

Schools

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary and (b) secondary pupils were sent home from school because they were drunk in the last year, broken down by local authority.

Keith Brown: We do not collect any information on the number of pupils who were sent home drunk from school. However in the academic year 2008-09, 8 primary pupils and 236 secondary pupils were excluded for "substance misuse – alcohol".

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools are using temporary accommodation to teach in, broken down by local authority.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold details of temporary accommodation being used by local authorities.

Schools

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has approved for the building of the new Dumbarton Academy.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government will provide a contribution of £12.1 million towards the replacement of Dumbarton Academy from Scotland’s Schools for the Future.

Schools

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates the construction of the new Dumbarton Academy will (a) commence and (b) be completed.

Keith Brown: The construction timetable for Dumbarton Academy has not yet been determined by West Dunbartonshire Council as the procurement process has not been completed for the school. The Scottish Government’s contribution towards Dumbarton Academy will commence in 2011-12.

Schools

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of school building projects being halted across England and Wales, whether it remains committed to funding building of the new Dumbarton Academy to the previously agreed timetable.

Keith Brown: This Government remains committed to Scotland’s Schools for the Future and the Scottish Futures Trust are continuing to work with each council to ensure delivery of their school in line with the timelines which have been confirmed.

Scottish Government Expenditure

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimated expenditure on publicity is for the first quarter of 2011 and how this compares with the equivalent period in each of the last three years.

John Swinney: The seasonal nature of some of the Scottish Government public information campaigns means that the majority of activity takes place over the winter and into the spring. This is a pattern consistent with previous years, both under this and the previous administration.

  Projected expenditure on Social Advertising and Public Information campaigns in the first quarter of 2011 is currently estimated at £3,360,000 including VAT. However, this is subject to business planning variations and fluctuations to the media market. For each of the past three years, quarter one expenditure was £5,956,720 in 2008, £6,610,869 in 2009 and £5,035,714 in 2010.

  In the current economic climate, advertising expenditure is constantly being reviewed to achieve maximum cost efficiencies in line with ministerial objectives.

Wildlife

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what legislation would require to be amended to enable people suspected of illegally poisoning birds of prey to be prosecuted on the evidence of a single witness.

Roseanna Cunningham: The requirement for corroboration is a basic principle of Scots law. An amendment setting aside the requirement for corroboration in relation to an offence or offences would normally be made to the legislation containing the relevant offence(s). Offences relating to the unlawful killing of wild birds are principally set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 will take place.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government has received recommendations for species to be added to, or deleted from, Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 from the 5th Quinquennial Review carried out by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The Scottish Government will shortly be consulting on these recommendations.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities hold a current general licence under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the control of lesser black backed gulls and when these licences will expire.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities hold a current general licence under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the control of herring gulls and when these licences will expire.

Roseanna Cunningham: Local authorities who need to control gulls may do so under the terms of a Scottish Government general licence, provided that they meet the conditions which are set out on the licence. The licence can be downloaded from the link below. The Scottish Government does not keep a record of general licences issued. The general licence does require returns. The current licences expire on 31 December 2010.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/16330/general-licences.